NASA Leaving Mars Rat Behind (Update)

Has NASA proven the existence of life on Mars with this image of an alleged rodent? We’ll never know for sure as the Curiosity Rover won’t be making a second trip looking for the rat.

The previous story that NASA’s Curiosity Rover had uncovered a rat behind is going to end disappointingly for martian enthusiasts, as they won’t be going back to the scene to scope out a potential sighting.

This story took the world by storm, sparking a debate as to whether or not NASA had proven that there really is life on Mars. The world will have to wait a little longer to find out for sure, with no concrete evidence other than the above picture where it appears that a rat is hiding behind some rocks on the surface of the Red Planet.

Conversation and debate on this topic on the internet has created many stories about the so called Mars Rat. UFO and martian enthusiasts, one of which actually discovered the findings and posted it on his blog initially, have created tales of this being an indigenous Mars species. Others have argued that this was a rat brought to mars by NASA to be left behind and studied on the surface.

Scientists involved with NASA and the Curiosity Rover are not buying into the hype surrounding the Mars rat, and as a result have no intentions of further investigating. Taking a more logical approach to the picture, Curiosity Deputy Project Scientist Joy Crisp of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California addressed the situation to reporters on Wednesday. “Clearly, it results from, you know, a lot of things like wind erosion and mechanical abrasion and breakdown chemical weathering of the rocks, as to why they get these weird shapes.”

Although Crisp and the other scientists at NASA tend to take nothing but amusement from the animals people claim to see in the photographs the Curiosity Rover captures, she does see some benefit in their sightings. Her explanation is that “It’s fun in a way, too, in that it will attract a lot of the public to look at the images and learn a little bit about Mars by pulling them in this way,”

Curiosity will begin its move up Mount Sharp in a week, making the window for exploration slim to none. The mountain is rises 3.4 miles above the surface, with little currently being known about it.

This has been an update on the original story shown below:

Life on Mars, it is a thought that has inspired NASA and now private investors as well to explore outer space for years, but have we finally found proof that it exists?

The mast camera on NASA’s Curiosity Rover potentially revealed just that. Experts claim that a rat appears in the picture above, taken on September 28th, 2012. The picture appears to depict a rat hiding behind rocks, although critics point out that the similarities in color and size most likely point to it being just another rock.

Taken in the “Rocknest site” the photo could finally be the evidence NASA has been seeking to prove that there is indeed life on Mars. The Rocknest site was the same location where the Rover determined that the sand on the surface composed of basaltic materials similar to that which would be found in Hawaii on Earth. The Rover determined the makeup of the soil through scooping up a sample and then ‘tasting’ it.

Believers in the rodent depicted above have noticed several key distinctions between the surrounding rocks and the alleged rodent. User ScottCWaring from the UFO Sightings Daily website, where the observed rodent was originally discovered, described what he saw as follows “Note its lighter color upper and lower eyelids, its nose and cheek areas, its ear, its front leg and stomach. Looks similar to a squirrel camouflaged in the stones and sand by its colors,” he wrote. “Hey, who doesn’t love squirrels, right?”

Whether or not this appears to be a rodent to you is up for debate. I can definitely see how one can see a squirrel like creature in the image above, however believing that NASA had finally proven that life on Mars exists is something I remain skeptical of. Had the rover uncovered video of this creature moving, rather than a still shot, this would have proven something substantial.

As it stands, the debate will ensue, but without any concrete evidence proving that the creature was indeed a living, breathing Mars rodent, more exploration and evidence will be needed to prove the existence of life on the red planet.

Science fiction movies have long loved the possibility of life on other planets, letting our minds run wild about the endless possibilities the universe has to offer. We may have finally be closing in on proving that it is out there, and as close as our neighboring planet. If video footage of a moving creature emerge from the Rover down the road, the race to Mars would be on, as everyone would want to be the first to come into contact with these creatures.

Mars Rovers have surfaced footage previously that have appeared to be living things, yet have been shown to be fictitious upon further investigation . As recently as 2010 the Spirit Rover sent back a picture of what some thought was a gorilla.

Without concrete evidence, NASA’s quest to prove there is life on Mars will continue into the future. Whether or not this actually is a rodent is up for debate. What do you think? Vote in the poll below and find out whether or not people believe this is the life NASA has sought on Mars.